Army Corps Of Engineers

Tribes monitor fish in nearshore ‘nursery’

LA CONNER— Nearly every day in the spring through early fall, somewhere in the Skagit basin and San Juan Islands, a crew from the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) is sampling fish populations.

Rain or shine, in smooth waters or blustery wind, the crew pulls beach seines and sets fyke traps to count and measure fish before returning them to the water. Crew members also record water temperature, salinity, depth, velocity, substrate and vegetation. As a result, SRSC, the natural resources arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes, has a 15-year (and counting) comprehensive database of the way fish use nearshore habitat.

The nearshore is a nursery to a variety of fish including sculpins, perch, smelt, herring and salmon. Puget Sound chinook salmon, listed as “threatened” by the federal Endangered Species Act, depend on estuaries for extended rearing during outmigration.

Monitoring this habitat is a crucial, yet often underfunded, aspect of the salmon recovery effort, said Eric Beamer, SRSC’s research director. Without it, nobody knows whether a restoration project did what it was supposed to do. (more…)

Continue ReadingTribes monitor fish in nearshore ‘nursery’

Cooperation Shows the Way

For years, Skagit County has been a battleground between fishermen and farmers. After a recent court victory the Swinomish Tribe is finding a way for the once warring sides to come together for the good of salmon habitat.

A few years back, the Swinomish Tribe sued Skagit County Dike District No. 22 for building tide gates without the permits they needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In September, a federal judge ruled that the district had violated both the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

With the judge’s ruling on their side, the Swinomish Tribe took the issue out of the courtroom. Instead of forcing the district to pay federal fines, the tribe suggested that the two become partners in restoring 200 acres of estuary in the Skagit delta.
(more…)

Continue ReadingCooperation Shows the Way

Links

  • Post author:
  • Post category:

Coastal States Organization (CSO): Represents the interests of the Governors from the thirty-five coastal States, Commonwealths and Territories bordering the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the…

Continue ReadingLinks

Increased Salmon Populations Following Dam Removal

SHELTON (November 8, 2006) – Coho populations on Goldsborough Creek have increased significantly since a dam on the creek was removed in 2001, according to data collected by the Squaxin Island Tribe.

“This shows us that dam removal works in restoring salmon populations,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the Squaxin Island Tribe. “If you give salmon habitat to spawn and rear in, they’re going to use it.”

In 2003 more than 60,000 juvenile coho, the first batch of coho that benefited from the increased habitat, migrated out to sea. “While that first out-migration is still the largest in the five years, the number of coho being produced has increased steadily,” said Joe Peters, fisheries biologist for the tribe.

(more…)

Continue ReadingIncreased Salmon Populations Following Dam Removal

Upstream of Old Dam, Squaxin Island Tribe Finding Salmon

SHELTON (April 14, 2003) — Since Goldsborough Dam was torn down two years ago, hundreds of salmon have begun spawning above the site of the old dam. Last year, the Squaxin Island Tribe counted over 15,000 young chum salmon migrating down from the newly opened habitat. “A lot great salmon habitat was blocked when Goldsborough Dam was built. We’re excited to see how many salmon have been getting up there in the two years the creek has been open,” said Joseph Peters, fisheries biologist with the Squaxin Island Tribe. “The success of removal can’t be judged without first seeing how many salmon use the new habitat.”

(more…)

Continue ReadingUpstream of Old Dam, Squaxin Island Tribe Finding Salmon